Faulty o/s pir lights ?

[tabby]

We had a power cut here last night the whole area went off ,then came back on again 30 mins later..since then our 3 x pir lights have been permanently on ! there are 2 dials to adjust for time on and level of light to come on ,no other reset switch ..any clue to what has happened or what we can do with them ..also we have been given a bulkhead dawn to dusk photo cell light,all my energy saving bulbs say " must not be used with photo cell circuits "yet the lamp says its suitable for these type of bulbs , any advise please thanks ,Keith ..

 

[Albert]

Sorry if this is not a complete reply, i got one of thous bulbs that say: no timer, no photo cells and no many other things... I installed the bulb in a fitting connected to a timer and it is working perfectly...
I would test it before hand and I would not be surprised if it will work.

 

[jamie.aston]

I think the reason that they don't recommend Energy Saving (Florecent) blubs for PIR type enclosures is the time they take to warm up to the specified rating. As for the PIR have you tried turning them off then straight back on again. Reason for this is that my PIR Floodlight has two modes, Perminantly on and PIR Mode and you switch between them by turning them off then back on within 20 seconds.

Regards
Jamie

 

[Taylortwocities]

Dunno why your lights are still on. Sometimes an of & on switch gets them mixed up. I'll bet that they will be OK after they have been thru a night & day cycle.

 

[securespark]

This often happens with power cuts. Try switching off for a minute, then on again. Let the lights settle down & see if they go off. Chances are the interruption has switched them on to "on all the time".

 

[Space cat]

also we have been given a bulkhead dawn to dusk photo cell light,all my energy saving bulbs say " must not be used with photo cell circuits "yet the lamp says its suitable for these type of bulbs

A lot of photocell and timer switches have only two terminals and are designed either to replace a standard light switch or to go between bulb and holder. They are therefore wired in series with the bulb. To get their power they bleed a small current through the bulb when it's off and pinch a few volts when it's on. That works OK with filament lamps but fluorescents give them a problem.

A fluorescent lamp with conventional starter draws no current at all until the voltage exceeds the striking voltage of the starter. With the electronic switch bleeding current through, the gas in the starter will ionize and the tube might try to strike but it can't work properly. Also, when (if?) the bi-metal switch in the starter does open, the photocell/timer switch loses power. Switching a fluorescent on is even worse. The ballast inductor generates a high voltage spike when the starter's switch opens. This is what you need to initiate the discharge in the tube. It is also liable to fry external electronic switches!

With an electronic starter, as usually found in modern fluorescents, the results are less predictable. But that's even more reason for manufactures to take the easy option and say no to photocell switches.

Your lamp is self cotained and so it can obtain power for it's electronics whether the bulb is on or off. It says it works with fluorescents so give it a try.